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When I first read this article, the wording of it, and the fact that it is an article related to Ropeway conveyor, gave me the impression that this was just a system from transporting stone over distance. But according to page 207 of this book: https://books.google.com/books?id=Xcuoyxo33nsC&pg=PA204&lpg=PA204&dq=steam+powered+boom+derrick&source=bl&ots=TVLuWTW7F9&sig=2Wg1K-6UdIOqLS9JdP4vL6Ni-us&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj3kabu_N7KAhXDGz4KHSK6B8YQ6AEIIzAB#v=onepage&q=steam%20powered%20boom%20derrick&f=false , a "blondin" is a term for a cable crane, which operates by suspending a cable over an open quarry, and hanging a crane pulley under it, which can be run back and forth across the suspending cable. So, you run the pulley out to the rock you want to pick up, lower the crane cable, lift the rock, and run the pulley back to the edge of the quarry, and lower the rock. It's like a guy derrick with much longer reach and no traverse. This article doesn't actually contradict that, but it doesn't make it very clear either. It sounds like it's just for transporting material over long distance, like any other ropeway conveyor, when it's really a form of lifting device that can also transport the material for some distance, although probably not a very great one, since the crane pulley cable has to be anchored to a winch on the ground, so the travel is limited by the length of the crane cable (or that's my understanding). Anyway, I think the primary purpose of a blondin is to lift the material; transporting it is a secondary function, and is only done for short distances. If you need to transport the material down the side of a mountain, you'd use a regular ropeway conveyor. AnnaGoFast (talk) 21:04, 4 February 2016 (UTC)[reply]
